Crime – Hanover – LKA registers more accomplished deeds in trick fraud in 2021 – Panorama
Hanover (dpa / lni) – Tricksters in Lower Saxony who pretend to be fake police officers or use the so-called grandchild trick were able to complete more deeds last year than before. This is the result of figures from the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office (LKA), which are available to the German Press Agency. According to this, the number of known, completed fraudulent acts with false police officers has increased continuously since the start of the count in 2013 and reached a high in 2021. Of the approximately 6,000 cases of fraud recently registered in the provisional entry statistics, more than 130 reach. In the previous year, bogus police officers robbed the older victims of their savings in around 100 cases. According to the LKA, these cases in 2021 alone caused damage of around 2.9 million euros.
However, according to the LKA, the total number of known cases with the wrong police officers decreased in the past year. After an enormous increase by 2020 to around 8100 registered crimes, there were signs of a decrease in 2021 with around 6000 cases. A concrete prognosis for the further development is not possible, says a spokeswoman for the LKA. “So far, however, it can be seen that the perpetrators need fewer attempts to complete their crimes and, in individual cases, to loot larger sums of money.”
In the case of scams involving grandchildren, officials have noticed a constant increase in the number of cases since the start of the 2011 count. The LKA announced that the number of known crimes that ended with money handovers or transfers has more than doubled since then. Last year, according to preliminary data, around 3,100 deeds were registered with the grandchild trick, of which more than 150 reached the perpetrators. In 2020 there were still around 2400 actions and more than 70 completed. The damage estimated by the LKA has recently increased slightly from 1.5 to around 1.7 million euros.
According to the investigators, the legends used by the scammers are constantly changing and are also being adapted to preventive campaigns and social changes. “It can currently be observed that the legend of the serious or fatal traffic accident caused by close relatives is used primarily with the “wrong police officers” and with the “grandchild trick”,” said the LKA spokeswoman. With the grandchild trick, the perpetrator would have used a messenger service to get in touch with an increasing tendency.
The number of calls from fake doctors who demand money for the treatment of family members with shock calls and fabricated stories, on the other hand, has fallen to almost zero in the last two months of 2021. In October, the LKA had warned of this new scam given the high number of cases.
The police recommend – especially older people – to be careful when asking questions about the person, family or assets over the phone. It is helpful, for example, to ask the caller questions and to question what has been said, said the LKA spokeswoman. “If in doubt, the conversation should be ended and then the police contacted.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220212-99-90982/4